The only undisputed goal was the third Cologne goal by Dejan Ljubicic (80′), whose header hit the post from the heel of Schalke keeper Alexander Schwolow. Substitute Marius Bülter had previously shortened for Schalke (77th).
Despite all the anger at the referees: The Royal Blues, who also played their last Bundesliga game to date on May 22, 2021 in Cologne, had to realize that the path to staying up in the league will be very difficult.
It seemed as if Schalke wanted to take advantage of Cologne’s uncertainty about the approaching loss of striker Anthony Modeste. The Royal Blues started furiously and celebrated Zalazar’s goal too early. The scene was like a wake-up call for Cologne, who then created a number of decent chances and took control. Hardly anything came from Schalke during this phase. When Drexler had to leave the field, the balance of power finally shifted in favor of FC.
Modeste on Monday probably at the medical check
Cologne looked for gaps and tried to overwhelm the Schalke defense. The attackers Jan Thielmann and Florian Dietz were the focus of attention. Collectively, FC trainer Baumgart wanted to replace Modeste, who is so important for the Cologne game and who will probably complete his medical check at BVB on Monday.
Just in time for the start of the season in Cologne, it was leaked that Modeste, who scored 20 goals in Cologne last year, was leaving the club. Baumgart therefore deleted the Frenchman from the squad for the duel with the promoted team.
The Cologne team showed in the second half that it is also possible without Modeste. Defender Kilian steadied the ball resolutely into the goal after a corner, Kainz increased.
FC kept the game firmly under control and only had to be blamed for not leading even more clearly. Instead, Bülter caused excitement again out of nowhere – but only for a few minutes.